What seperates us from the animals?

The awareness of death.

 

These are both rather fuzzy lines.
Many animals have schemes for communication, and I'm not convinced that you can sweepingly declare that they don't understand or are not aware of reality or death.

I would just say that humans are (significantly) further up the continuous scale of development than the other animals.

 

circumcision

 

Who said we are separate from animals?

 

Thank God we dont behave like rabbits ....chewing off the competitions balls :eggnog:

 

I used to have three rabbits. The smallest one was the most aggressive. He'd forcefully fuck the other two in the face at break-neck speeds.

You're damn right thank god we don't behave like rabbits.

 

Fences.

 

Padme beat me too it, but i'll go a step further. Elephants have graveyards and cats mourn the loss of other kitties/owners. Awareness of death? Possibly. Possibly not.

Here's the clincher: Having a sentient, self-awareness that not only does EVERYTHING (from the tiniest cell to the Universe itself) have a beginning and an end but the unalterable certainty that I WILL DIE and that this is inescapable, regardless of any potential beliefs about what may or may not happen afterwards.

Too wordy. To summarize, what separates us is the knowledge of our own inevitable deaths.

There is something else worth mentioning that relates to the idea of instinct. One thing that can separate us from animals is to try to be as mindful, as awake as possible as we go through our lives. This is very, very difficult for me. Possibly because i'm starting so late (in my 40's). But, as i look around, my sense is that it is difficult/impossible for most other people too. It is so darned easy to just go through the day on auto-pilot, just automatically responding, not even thinking, letting my past experiences, prejudices, current moods, etc. completely distort my already shaky sensory inputs. Speaking (frequently in anger) without even thinking. These are errors that waste the days of our lives and poison our relationships. These are like animal instinct behaviors, they are so automatic. We can rise above this if we try to do the work each and every day.

We can breakthrough (i love this word) the idiocy, violence and murder that seem to almost be programmed into our gene code by using our minds. What a difficult burden. What a blessing and a priveledge.

Peace & Love,
Spicey Cat
Brrrrrp!

 

would we have that knowlege without the ability to think in words, or the language to communicate with anyone about anything?

 

Yep, the use of abstract symbols is necessary for the discussion of abstract phenomena.

 

We have a sharper sense of being and a lesser sense of instinct. Each can overlap somewhat depending on the species.

 

That is true of us currently, but would it be true of a man living in the jungle who had never interacted with another human...(Tarzan?) who had to hunt for food and didn't live in a civilized world where instincts have a much lesser value?

 

Penis size

 

Well,I hate to sound silly,but wouldn't it be impossible for a human to mature without ever interacting with another human? A mom ,for instance?

 

Has anyone said opposable thumbs?

 

No, not yet



Opposable thumbs

 

I think someone did way back there. But apes and monkeys have them. So that doesn't do it.

 

First proposed here

 

He's not someone...he isn't even real.

 

micro chimps..